An ex-army and Royal Mail worker who allowed his home to be used to grow cannabis to pay off a debt has been jailed.

John O’Brien, 40, was caught by police after they executed a search warrant at his home on Paddock Street in Oswaldtwistle on March 31 this year.

Officers found 30 cannabis plants in a locked bedroom along with other drugs paraphernalia, including lighting units, air filter units and transformers, Burnley Crown Court heard. Electricity North West later confirmed that the electricity meter had been bypassed.

O’Brien originally pleaded guilty in July to allowing premises to be used for the production of cannabis.